First, we’re both safe following the recent attack in London. We missed it by a day…and coincidentally, we actually walked both sides of London Bridge (Tower Bridge) where the vehicle incident took place and knife attack began. We purposely walked both sides as our drum corps (Crown) is playing excerpts from London Bridge, and felt perhaps that may bring us good luck during the fast-approaching competitive season. I mentioned safety concerns in one of my initial posts – close call – seven dead, 48 injured, based on early morning news reports received on the ship. Absolutely senseless. We feel so very bad for the victims and respective families. Thank you, dear Lord, for watching over us.
Second, I was highly critical of British Airways several days ago, recapping our first experience with them as we traveled from Phoenix to London. I also said one flight does not an airline make. Our second experience…London to Amsterdam…was fantastic – everything from check-in through boarding, the employees, service levels, & comfort. On my ten-scale, our first experience was a two, second experience a strong eight. Hat’s off to them. And their facility at Heathrow is one of the largest and best organized we’ve ever experienced.
We landed in Amsterdam around 3:30pm Friday and were met by a Holland America rep. There was only one other couple with us, so the trip from the airport to the hotel was conducive to conversation. The van driver told us that Amsterdam is the capital & and most populous metroplex in the kingdom of the Netherlands. The city itself has about 800,000 folks, another 1.3M in the urban areas, & roughly 2.5M in the entire metropolitan area. To our surprise, the city has more than 60 miles of canals, most of which are navigable by boat. We were told that Amsterdam was once surrounded by a moat, which now forms the innermost ring in the city, and makes the city center itself a horseshoe shape. We would compare it with a scaled down version of Venice, due to its division into about 90 islands, which are linked by more than 1,200 bridges.
Since we’ll be doubling back here three times over the next two months, we asked about ‘must see’ attractions, and were told that the Amsterdam stock exchange is very interesting, which is the oldest exchange in the world (located in the city center), the Rijjks museum, the Van Gogh museum, Stedelijk museum, Anne Frank house, red-light district, and of course, the cannabis coffee shops. He said the coffee shops alone, draw more than 5 million visitors each year. The latter may be of interest to us, as we’ve never set foot in a cannabis shop of any kind…so that would be an education for us. He said they’re as common in Amsterdam as donut shops are in the United States. We passed nearly a dozen of them between the airport and our 1-night hotel. As more and more States back home legalize recreational cannabis, I’m interested to understand the impact on Amsterdam’s economy, how the products are taxed, influence on society, problems encountered, how laws are enforced, etc. Amazing to us…pot has been decriminalized in Amsterdam for 38 years! Not only in America, but the international tide is gradually turning in an effort to get rid of drug-traffickers on the streets and leverage tax dollars. If I were younger, I’d certainly explore the medicinal cannabis trade as it has made a profound impact in battling certain diseases in both young and old.
The hotel was very nice – just adjacent to the ship terminal. Once we got settled, we took a brief walk to the edge of nearby city center. Next door to one of the historic Amsterdam churches was, of all places, a cannabis ‘coffee’ shop. We HAD to go in. Ironic…NO cigarette smoking allowed…but several dozen folks were seated next to each other with bongs loaded & active. The crowd mix was interesting – just as many folks in their 50’s and 60’s as 30’s and 40’s.
We were in bed very early as all luggage needed to be placed outside our hotel room by 7am Saturday morning for transport to the ship – so convenient! After a leisurely breakfast, we checked-in with the cruise line, met and talked with some other nice folks from Arizona, and boarded the ship around 11:30. Luggage was delivered by 2pm and we were completely unpacked and settled before the 3:30pm lifeboat drill. During the exercise, we met a gal (Jerri) whom we sailed with back in 2012 for several months – she’s the only other passenger we recognize so far.
Shortly after the lifeboat drill, the Captain announced that due to a major weather system moving in, our first two ports back in England are cancelled. Apparently, the storm is so severe, we’re heading straight for Dublin to try and get ahead of the worst of it – he indicated 60mph winds and heavy seas. With that said, he also mentioned we would experience some of the adverse sea conditions this evening, so the ship is being prepared accordingly.
Compared to the modern mega-ships sailing the high seas, the Prinsendam is but a dinghy – albeit a very elegant dinghy. With only a few hundred passengers and a crew of 400+, this 700’ ship can explore seldom-visited destinations larger ships can’t reach, which was one of the main reasons for our selection this journey. It’s intimate, yet comfortably spacious with very few lines for any activity. In fact, most all of our world tours have been on a smaller ship, now having logged over 1,000 days at sea since retiring in 2011. Of the 196 countries in the world today, we’ve now covered 150+ to include extremes such as the far reaches of Antarctica, one of our favorites...one of the most breathtaking destinations on earth...and only accessible via small ship as permitted by law.
Second, I was highly critical of British Airways several days ago, recapping our first experience with them as we traveled from Phoenix to London. I also said one flight does not an airline make. Our second experience…London to Amsterdam…was fantastic – everything from check-in through boarding, the employees, service levels, & comfort. On my ten-scale, our first experience was a two, second experience a strong eight. Hat’s off to them. And their facility at Heathrow is one of the largest and best organized we’ve ever experienced.
We landed in Amsterdam around 3:30pm Friday and were met by a Holland America rep. There was only one other couple with us, so the trip from the airport to the hotel was conducive to conversation. The van driver told us that Amsterdam is the capital & and most populous metroplex in the kingdom of the Netherlands. The city itself has about 800,000 folks, another 1.3M in the urban areas, & roughly 2.5M in the entire metropolitan area. To our surprise, the city has more than 60 miles of canals, most of which are navigable by boat. We were told that Amsterdam was once surrounded by a moat, which now forms the innermost ring in the city, and makes the city center itself a horseshoe shape. We would compare it with a scaled down version of Venice, due to its division into about 90 islands, which are linked by more than 1,200 bridges.
Since we’ll be doubling back here three times over the next two months, we asked about ‘must see’ attractions, and were told that the Amsterdam stock exchange is very interesting, which is the oldest exchange in the world (located in the city center), the Rijjks museum, the Van Gogh museum, Stedelijk museum, Anne Frank house, red-light district, and of course, the cannabis coffee shops. He said the coffee shops alone, draw more than 5 million visitors each year. The latter may be of interest to us, as we’ve never set foot in a cannabis shop of any kind…so that would be an education for us. He said they’re as common in Amsterdam as donut shops are in the United States. We passed nearly a dozen of them between the airport and our 1-night hotel. As more and more States back home legalize recreational cannabis, I’m interested to understand the impact on Amsterdam’s economy, how the products are taxed, influence on society, problems encountered, how laws are enforced, etc. Amazing to us…pot has been decriminalized in Amsterdam for 38 years! Not only in America, but the international tide is gradually turning in an effort to get rid of drug-traffickers on the streets and leverage tax dollars. If I were younger, I’d certainly explore the medicinal cannabis trade as it has made a profound impact in battling certain diseases in both young and old.
The hotel was very nice – just adjacent to the ship terminal. Once we got settled, we took a brief walk to the edge of nearby city center. Next door to one of the historic Amsterdam churches was, of all places, a cannabis ‘coffee’ shop. We HAD to go in. Ironic…NO cigarette smoking allowed…but several dozen folks were seated next to each other with bongs loaded & active. The crowd mix was interesting – just as many folks in their 50’s and 60’s as 30’s and 40’s.
We were in bed very early as all luggage needed to be placed outside our hotel room by 7am Saturday morning for transport to the ship – so convenient! After a leisurely breakfast, we checked-in with the cruise line, met and talked with some other nice folks from Arizona, and boarded the ship around 11:30. Luggage was delivered by 2pm and we were completely unpacked and settled before the 3:30pm lifeboat drill. During the exercise, we met a gal (Jerri) whom we sailed with back in 2012 for several months – she’s the only other passenger we recognize so far.
Shortly after the lifeboat drill, the Captain announced that due to a major weather system moving in, our first two ports back in England are cancelled. Apparently, the storm is so severe, we’re heading straight for Dublin to try and get ahead of the worst of it – he indicated 60mph winds and heavy seas. With that said, he also mentioned we would experience some of the adverse sea conditions this evening, so the ship is being prepared accordingly.
Compared to the modern mega-ships sailing the high seas, the Prinsendam is but a dinghy – albeit a very elegant dinghy. With only a few hundred passengers and a crew of 400+, this 700’ ship can explore seldom-visited destinations larger ships can’t reach, which was one of the main reasons for our selection this journey. It’s intimate, yet comfortably spacious with very few lines for any activity. In fact, most all of our world tours have been on a smaller ship, now having logged over 1,000 days at sea since retiring in 2011. Of the 196 countries in the world today, we’ve now covered 150+ to include extremes such as the far reaches of Antarctica, one of our favorites...one of the most breathtaking destinations on earth...and only accessible via small ship as permitted by law.
While some prefer to pack their local shopping mall & string of restaurants onboard, the Prinsendam, conversely, features a special signature sculpture that dominates the three-story atrium featuring etched fish, turtles and dolphins climbing a stunning cylinder of Bolle glass and lit with state-of-the-art fiber optics. Other works of art include a remarkable abstract marble sculpture of a Viking ship by contemporary Norwegian artist Nicholas Widerberg, a series of paintings by impressionist painter Neil Pinkett, and an outstanding collection of Roman Amphorae from 50 - 150 AD.Prinsendam, or "Princes" ship, is truly a classic ship worthy of her name. The crew itself is hand-picked from among Holland America’s finest to accommodate the short guest list. Simple…elegant…comfortable…impeccable service & attention to detail at every turn.
Our next update will be Dublin - a first for us.
Stay safe everyone...
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